In October 2009, billionaires Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, the creators of the Kazaa P2P client as well as Skype, announced that they had developed and financed the unlimited music subscription service Rdio, and the company has now made the service available to all.
Separating the service from others like Rhapsody is the fact that Rdio allows users to listen from anywhere in “the cloud,” including through their phones, instead of needing to download DRM-laced music locally.
Furthermore, Rdio has many social networking features connected to Facebook and Twitter. Rdio uses subscriber’s online social networks to recommend songs, as well. If a bunch of your friends like a certain artist, Rdio will likely recommend it to you.
Rdio has over seven million tracks available from the major labels and thousands of indies.
The service charges $10 per month for unlimited access to music on a computer or your smartphone. For $5, you can get browser-only access.
Rdio is available on BlackBerrys, Android devices and the Apple iPhone.
Result for: unlimited music
MOG has announced today the launch of MOG All Access, an unlimited music streaming service that will cost only $5 USD a month and has backing by the Big 4; Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music.
Says CEO David Hyman: “Our goal with MOG All Access was to build the best service for listening to and discovering music, period. To accomplish this, we’re providing access to millions of songs (just about everything), with a drop dead easy way to hear any song or album you like in an instant, from the convenience of your web browser. You’ll get access to MOG radio, a revolutionary listening experience that will forever change how you discover music and truly redefines what radio is, and killer tools for discovery through other users of the service. And you get it all monthly for the price of a beer. We’re setting the music listening bar.”
The company adds they have partnerships with thousands of indie labels and the service will launch with over 5 million tracks. “Millions more” are expected before the end of the year.
“Creating a great online music experience requires not only a large catalog of easily accessible songs, but also a compelling, easy-to-use platform that allows fans to discover, share and discuss the music and artists they are passionate about,” added Michael Nash, Executive Vice President Digital Strategy and Business Development at Warner Music Group. “MOG ’s All Access Pass offers fans a fresh and dynamic way to enjoy the music they love and a terrific way for our artists to reach their fans where they are most engaged. We look forward to working with MOG to make that user experience the best it can be.”
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Result for: unlimited music
Virgin Media has started a new “unlimited” music service this week in the UK, however The Register is reporting that the service will not be unlimited at all, and users will be able to download 40 MP3s for £15 a month instead.
The ISP will eventually have unlimited downloads but “we’re still working towards that goal”, says the company.
UMG, the largest label on the planet, is a big fan of the unlimited music model, and other reports have put the blame on Sony Music for the lack of current unlimited options via Virgin.
“We believe music fans are crying out for a service like this, and we want to see it launched as soon as possible. We and our artists are doing everything we can to support Virgin Media and to get the new service off the ground,” adds a UMG spokesperson.
Virgin still hopes to have the service up and running by December, with all labels on board.
